Greek Wrap (…not a Gyro) Round 23: A Dose of Local Pride and Home Advantage

By: Peter Katsiris | February 24th, 2009

It was a weekend of slim margins and surprising upsets. While the schedule was highlighted by local derbies in Athens and in Thessaloniki, Olympiacos’ lead at the top of the Greek Super League standings was reduced by three points, while at the bottom of the chart, the relegation battle continued to nominate its likely candidates.

Skoda Xanthi FC 0-0 OFI Crete FC
A scoreless night in Xanthi meant Skoda Xanthi and visitors OFI shared the spoils in Pigadia. While there will be disappointment for Giorgos Paraschos’ men, especially after their midweek Cup defeat for AEK Athens. OFI’s ability to grab a point does help their chances of staying in the Super League for at least another year, but does assert more pressure for the weeks to come.

PAOK FC 1-0 Iraklis FC
In the season’s second edition of the Thessaloniki derby between PAOK and Iraklis, a goal from Pablo Contreras separated both sides afternearly eighty minutes of scoreless football. Holding their own for most of the match, Iraklis constantly looked likely to score the match’s breakthrough; however, a costly defensive error dug a deep hole for Makis Katsavakis’ men. There was no way back for the visitors, who were bitterly deflated when Contreras converted Sergio Conceicao’s cross.

Panathinaikos FC 2-1 Panionios GSS
Another local derby, this one in Athens between Panathinaikos and Panionios ended with a slim win for the hosts. Second-half goals from Antonis Petropoulos and Dimitrios Salpigidis put Panathinaikos ahead by two, but Fabian Estoyanoff secured a consolation goal for the visitors. With European ambitions still occupying the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium, the win was a much needed boost for Henk Ten Cate’s men, who tackle Villarreal in Spain on Wednesday.

Panserraikos FC 1-0 Levadeiakos FC
On Sunday, the Super League schedule resumed, and a matinee match in Serres saw Panserraikos claim their third consecutive home win, after going winless in their nine previous home stands. A lone goal Nino Milenkovic gave Hugo Broos’ side a confidence boosting victory, but it was the series of early dismissals that hogged the headlines. A total of three double bookings clogged the plot, as Panserraikos’ Anastasios Papazoglou and Mohammed Abubakari, and Levadeiakos’ Patrick Dimbala were sent to locker rooms ahead of the final whistle.

Thrasyvoulos Fylis 0-2 Panthrakikos FC
Panthrakikos ended a bad week on high, as the Thracians, with a little help, overcame Thrasyvoulos in Fyli with a 2-0 score-line. After ‘keeper Jose Roca was sentenced to a one-year ban due to unexplained drug use, which was utilized for asthma and not performance, Panthrakikos was tipped to be on a path for doom. On Sunday, however, a penalty strike from Sito Riera, and an own goal by Dimitris Mavrogenidis gave the Komotini-based club an important victory. Thrasyvoulos was pushed even deeper down into the relegation zone, and now look likely to return to the Beta Ethniki next year.

Larissa FC 1-1 Aris FC
In a meeting between two sides fighting for the final playoff spot, Aris was unable to close the gap between them and their closest rivals. A late goal from Aris captain Sergio Koke denied Larissa, who had gone ahead through a tally from Poland international Maciej Zurawski not more than ten minutes before. Larissa looked to be in trouble when star midfielder and impact goal scorer, Stelios Giannakopoulos, went down to injury just past the twenty-minute mark. His immediate replacement, Zurawski, struck after seventy-seven minutes, but ultimately Larissa was unable to triumph at home.

Asteras Tripolis FC 0-1 AEK Athens FC
It was a similar result to their prior meeting, as AEK left it late once again to overcome a determined Asteras Tripolis. Facing his former employers, Nikos Kostenoglou narrowly put together another slaying of a Greek titan. Instead it was another late winner from AEK that stole the result from the Arcadian club. Daniel Majstorovic struck his second goal against the Peloponnesian club, and AEK grabbed three much needed points to extend their undefeated run to three games. Both sides will quickly shift their focus to Cup aspirations, as both outfits host their quarterfinal opponents with work to do.
*** Don’t forget to stay up-to-date with AEK news by joining Chris Paraskevas over at the AEK Blog.

Ergotelis FC 1-0 Olympiacos CFP
Slumping to just their second Super League defeat of the season, Olympiacos was upset by Cretan side Ergotelis. Vasilis Koutsianikoulis, one of the Super League’s revelations this year, exposed the Olympiacos defense, and goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis, to give his side a memorable win against the Greek Champions. It seems Olympiacos is still focused on their European campaign, and a 3-1 deficit to French side Saint-Etienne rightly assumes full attention for the Super League leaders.
*** Don’t forget to stay up-to-date with Olympiacos news by joining Chris Pavlakos and myself over at the Olympiacos Blog.